*Looks hungry and helpless*

[tree_and_leaf]

So. I have been thinking about what to give up for Lent, and have settled on meat.

However, this is making me mildly apprehensive about being able to stick to it, as I have only a very limited repertoire of vegetarian dishes. As I know my flist contains lots of people who are Good at Food, could you help me out by recommending recipes. I don't have much time to cook during the week. I do like spices, though I'm not all that good at really hot food (I tend to go for 'medium' dishes in Indian restaurants). I also love lentils, and also mushrooms. I have never cooked with tofu, but am willing to give it a go as long as people tell me exactly how to deal with it....

Comments

[bookwormsarah.livejournal.com]

One of the easiest veggie dishes is a lasagne. It can be cooked in advance and a portion can be heated up in just a few minutes whenever.

You need: lasagne sheets, tin of tomatoes, herbs (fresh or dried), and whatever veg is about. Spinach is particularly fine, but needs to be cooked first. Sliced mushrooms, celery, leeks, onions (saute first), and pulses/beans of choice (pre cooked/soaked, tins are good) also work well. Build up layers, and finish with mushrooms, aubergine slices or something over the top sheet of pasta otherwise it'll get incredibly crunchy. Cover with foil/greaseproof and back in the oven for c45 mins. Add cheese to top (mozzarella is my favourite but most works well), return for a couple of minutes and serve. If I'm cooking it to eat later, I only put the cheese on before I heat it, otherwise it soaks in and is lost...

My other stand-bys are stuffed mushrooms/peppers, which again use any veg in the house. For mushrooms, peel/wipe and place in a dish, remembering that they will shrink in the oven. For peppers, wash, cut in half length-ways, deseed and place in a dish. Put in the oven for about 15 mins. While these are cooking, saute onions or leeks, the mushroom stalks (or whole mushrooms for the peppers), and any other veg in the house. A couple of tomatoes work really well, as do cashew nuts. Add black pepper and herbs. Fill the peppers/mushrooms and cook for a few more minutes, then top with cheese.

Jars of curry sauce can be good (depending on the brand) and are quick - again just bung in whatever veg you have handy, sauting any onions first.

Sorry this is really long. I could go on for ages...and you've made me hungry!

[arwensommer.livejournal.com]

Tofu is actually really easy to work with! It can work in a great number of dishes, both as replacement for meat (oloriel would have my hide for suggesting that ;) ) or as a stand-alone. Just be careful to NOT marinate tofu... that can go HORRIBLY wrong.

In addition to tofu, you can work with mushrooms, cheese, eggs and nuts to replace the meat you're not eating. An example would be spinach with walnuts over linguini. Tastes really good... Takes about 10 minutes to prepare (depending on the cooking time for the linguini). Other dishes I've done include a mushroom-tomato-corn cream sauce over cheese-tortellini...

I guess I just don't know what you'd like to eat, otherwise I'd be perfectly willing to dig up some of my vegetarian recipes!

[overconvergent.livejournal.com]

You're planning to tread a harder road than me; I was only thinking of giving up alcohol, which should be interesting enough!

[pellegrina.livejournal.com]

- Mjadra (http://www.discoverlebanon.com/en/recipes/lentil_rice_pilaf.php)
- Chakchouka (http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_chakchouka.htm) (my recipe doesn't have chilli, and I serve it with cous cous)
- Colcannon (http://www.irelandnow.com/colcannon.html)

Ask if you are interested in recipes for an apple/apricot/barley soup; a chickpea/carrot/spinach recipe; numerous pasta dishes; numerous risotto dishes.

[parrot-knight.livejournal.com]

I've bookmarked this page as it is already revealing a lot of recipes which I should really teach myself; I survive on very low-grade vegetarian food for the most part.

[buffysquirrel.livejournal.com]

Chick peas make a satisfying alternative to meat.

[oursin.livejournal.com]

A lot of the items on my recipes tag (http://oursin.livejournal.com/tag/recipes) are veggie: and a lot of the side dishes could perfectly well be scaled up to form a main.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Try Kartoffelsuppe or Linsensuppe, I can send you the recipies if you like.

I also make a soup from veg stock, butternut squash or pumpkin, carrot,leek,coriander and celery. Nutmeg works quite well with it too. Just boil until the veg is tender and mash with a potato masher.

[themolesmother.livejournal.com]

Here's a quick and easy one. Afraid the quantities are in imperial as I still think in imperial:

Veggie Spaghetti Bolognaise

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic
6oz green lentils
8oz mushrooms
1 cube vegetable stock
1 14oz tin chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato puree
1 tablespoon mixed herbs
Stock reserved from cooking the lentils

Place the lentils in a saucepan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until soft but chewy. Drain, reserving the stock.

Chop the onion, crush the garlic. Fry over a medium heat until the onion is transparent and soft.

Wash, dry and quarter or halve the mushrooms, depending upon size. Add to the onion and garlic. Crumble in the stock cube. Make sure the mushrooms are well coated with oil and then fry on a lowish heat for 5 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Add the tinned tomatoes, cooked lentils, tomato puree and herbs. Season well. Bring to the boil and simmer slowly for around 10 minutes. Add lentil stock to achieve the desiredd consistency - thick but not too dry.

Serve with spaghetti and a sprinkling of parmesan.

Hope this helps!

MM

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Oh yes- if you use any kind of "meat substiture" mince do make sure that you add a lot of flavouring (eg tomatoes, chilli,curry) as it is quite bland in taste. Linda McCartney food tastes pretty good. Falafels are another possiblity and very nice with yoghurt.

[helflaed.livejournal.com]

Also there are some dirt cheap recipies here: http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/ with a heavy emphasis on beans as they are cheaper than meat.

[expectare.livejournal.com]

Are you counting fish as meat?

[tree_and_leaf]

Ooh, the lasagne sounds good!

As do the stuffed peppers (though I have negative associations with them, as my hall of residence did a very unappetising version that was basically peppers with over-cooked cous-cous and cheese)

[tree_and_leaf]

See, that's good to know, as I would have assumed that tofu needed to be marinated...

Frankly, I'd be grateful for any recipes - I'm not a fussy eater, and will try most things once. The spinach and walnuts thing sounds good; I'll certainly try it.

[tree_and_leaf]

Well, good luck! (I'm sure your liver will thank you...)

[tree_and_leaf]

Mm, these all look great! And I'd be interested in the soup and chickpea/spinach recipe...

[tree_and_leaf]

lj can be a great community resource!

[tree_and_leaf]

I can see potential for stews there.

[tree_and_leaf]

Thank you - I'll have a look!

[tree_and_leaf]

I hadn't thought of Kartoffelsuppe, but that sounds like a good option - could I have the recipe? (I've got a decent one for Linsensuppe).

[tree_and_leaf]

That sounds delicious! (Imperial is OK - I may be what my maths teacher referred to as 'a metric baby', but I can cope with it for the purposes of cooking...)

[tree_and_leaf]

Thanks for the various tips! I'm planning to avoid meat-substitute, as I regard it with a deep and possibly irrational suspicion, but the hillbilly recipes look good (cheap is always a bonus!). And felafels are definitely a Good Thing.

[tree_and_leaf]

I wasn't going to, but on reflection - and thinking about fish stocks and so on - yes.

[wuglet.livejournal.com]

I'll dig through my recipes on the weekend, I've got some nice things. :)

In the meantime, I can recommend veggie_diaries. They have some amazing dishes there.

And Simply Recipes (http://www.elise.com/recipes/) is always worth a look. :)

[schreibergasse.livejournal.com]

Goodness. I'm just giving up coffee, chocolate, and the internet (and lj doesn't count!) Anyway, I've posted some recipes here (http://community.livejournal.com/recipecollectv/13684.html); hope they help.

Everything's in US measurement, of course: roughly,
One Cup (c) = 237 ml
One Tablespoon (T) = 15 ml
One Teaspoon (t / tsp) = 5 ml